A recent survey by Gartner indicates a rising interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) among supply chain leaders. While historically lagging behind marketing and customer service sectors, supply chain teams are now increasingly considering the implementation of generative AI. The survey shows that 50% of supply chain leaders plan to implement this technology within the next year, with only 2% having no immediate plans for deployment.
Noha Tohamy, a distinguished VP analyst in Gartner’s supply chain practice, explained in an interview that supply chain leaders aim to be “fast followers” in adopting this technology, which is already being used in other business functions. Generative AI applications in the supply chain are varied, including chatbots for staff assistance, code generation, interfacing with other technological solutions, onboarding new hires, and analyzing key performance indicators.
Tohamy emphasized the potential of generative AI in processing complex data and responding to staff inquiries in natural language, thereby enhancing the return on investment for other technological tools. This technology, she noted, can significantly reduce the time spent on data analysis, enabling supply chain planners to focus more on decision-making and collaboration within their organizations.
According to a Gartner presentation on the survey, when asked about the benefits of AI, supply chain leaders predominantly cited increased productivity, with 46% recognizing this as a key advantage. Other benefits include business agility, cost reductions, support in digital transformation efforts, and improved profitability.
In the realm of procurement, the investment in generative AI is also notable, albeit slightly behind supply chain functions. The survey indicates that 43% of procurement leaders are actively planning to implement generative AI within the next 12 months. Major applications in this field include sourcing, contract lifecycle management, supplier information management, communication, sourcing advisory desk chatbots, and summarizing proposal reviews.
Generative AI could assist procurement analysts in intuitively understanding top suppliers in a category and help suppliers in assessing past performance and business risks associated with service levels, according to Tohamy.
The survey also found that both supply chain and procurement leaders expect generative AI to lead to staff reductions in the coming years, with anticipated headcount decreases of 10.4% and 6.6% by 2026, respectively, in these two sectors. However, Tohamy noted that these expectations of workforce reductions might be “overly ambitious,” considering that the integration and adoption of generative AI in supply chain organizations are still in the early stages.
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